Business News

5 things you need to know today

1. In The Australian's final Newspoll for the year published today, Labor leads the Coalition in the two-party-preferred vote, 55 to 45. Bill Shorten gained two points in the preferred prime minister vote to 36%, while Scott Morrison dropped 2 points to 44%.

2. The OECD has indicated a 'soft landing' for the housing market is currently the most likely scenario, but suggested that "financial supervisors and bank regulators should be prepared in the event of a hard landing".

3. Australian stocks are set to follow the lead set by Wall Street when the market opens this morning. Last week was the worst week for the S&P 500 since March.

4. The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has criticised Donald Trump's tweets about protests in Paris and other French cities over the weekend, and said "we do not take part in American debates, let us live our life in our country".

5. Following the wildfires in California last month, Andrea Gaylord returned to her destroyed home to find her dog, Madison, had been guarding the home for almost a month